The invention relates to a cleaning apparatus for kitchen equipment, in particular combination steamer, baking and/or cooking equipment having a cooking space to be cleaned that is delimited by at least one wall. The cooking space has at least one outlet opening for a liquid, a ventilation fan with a drive motor, and a collecting tank which at least temporarily collects the liquid that exits the cooking space via the outlet opening. A supply line is provided to supply fresh water and/or cleaning fluid, under control of a valve, to the cooking space. A circulating pump is provided for the liquid collected in the collecting tank with a circulation line by which the liquid, sitting in the collecting tank, can be conveyed to the cooking space. The apparatus also has a drain line for discharging the liquid that exits the cooking space.
Furthermore, the invention relates to a pump system that can be used, in particular, for a cleaning apparatus according to the invention.
DE 10 2013 004 660.2 describes such a pump system. The entire contents of DE 10 2013 004 660.2 are incorporated by reference herein and are to be considered and become part of the present disclosure.
Cleaning apparatuses for kitchen equipment, in particular for combination steamer, baking and/or cooking equipment regularly uses a circulating pump in order to supply a cleaning fluid to the cooking space of the kitchen equipment that is to be cleaned. The liquid is regularly provided in a collecting tank arranged underneath the cooking space and into which the liquid that is present in the cooking space can flow by passing through an outlet opening.
A circulating pump is provided at the collecting tank. It is typically associated with the area of a lower part of the collecting tank, the so-called “collection pot”.
In addition to the cleaning fluid, the liquids obtained during food preparation and solids resulting from cleaning, such as condensed out lime or excess water resulting from steaming a substance to be cooked, as well as cooking residues and grease are collected in the collecting tank. To empty the collecting tank, it is conventional to provide a drain line that has a controllable valve. The collecting tank can then be emptied as needed via valve actuation. Due to aggressive media that arise in the preparation of the items to be cooked and during cleaning of the cooking equipment, the valve must be made of a highly resistant material, such as stainless steel. For this reason the valve is very expensive.